An Orange County judge, who campaigned to increase trust in the justice system, to plead guilty to fraud

An Orange County judge resigned Wednesday and announced his intention to plead guilty next week to defrauding the state fund of thousands of dollars.

Israel Claustro, 50, who touted his ability to help “instill confidence in America’s justice system” during his 2022 judicial campaign, agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud at his next court date Monday in US Central District Court in Santa Ana.

“Judge Claustro broke the law for his own financial gain,” First Assistant US Atty. Bill Essayli said in the statement. “We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone – including judges – who defrauds public benefits intended to help those in need.”

Claustro’s Costa Mesa-based attorney, Paul S. Meyer, said of his client in an emailed statement: “He takes full responsibility for his actions, and has fully cooperated with the investigation. In good faith, with regret, he is voluntarily resigning his judicial office.”

In the plea agreement, signed Wednesday, the U.S. attorney’s office is calling for house arrest as Claustro’s punishment.

The crime carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to the office, and fines totaling tens of thousands of dollars.

The judge will ultimately decide his sentence.

Claustro founded a medical organization, Liberty Medical Group of Rancho Cucamonga, in November 2015 even though he had no formal medical background, according to the plea agreement. California law requires medical company owners obtaining a license in medicine or a related field.

The following April, he opened a business bank account with Kevin Tien Do, a doctor, employee and participant in the fraud, according to the plea agreement.

In October of that year, Do and other doctors working for Liberty began suing California’s Post-Injury Benefits Fund, a workers’ compensation fund for people who are already disabled or disabled during a work-related injury, according to the plea agreement.

Doctors at Liberty provided forensic medical evaluations, according to court documents.

However, in August 2017, Do was served notice by the Division of Workers’ Compensation of its intent to suspend him for a previous fraud conviction, pursuant to a plea agreement.

Do served a one-year prison sentence in 2003 for health care fraud.

This conviction led to his suspension in October 2017 from participating in the trust fund program, according to the plea agreement.

Do notified Claustro of his formal suspension in April 2018. Do appealed but his indefinite suspension was upheld by the California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board in October 2018, pursuant to a plea agreement.

However, Claustro is still paying Doe $306,000 for medical tests and reports done after his suspension, according to court documents.

Did hire a medical professional, identified in court documents only as TD, to perform patient evaluations during his suspension, according to court documents. TD, however, did not assist in preparing or reviewing the medico-legal reports submitted to the trust fund, according to court documents.

TD eventually died of natural causes in December 2021, according to court documents.

Reports prepared by Do after his suspension include the names of other doctors when payment documents were sent to the trust fund, according to the settlement agreement.

Claustro paid $38,670 of the $306,000 to Do knowing that he, and not another doctor, was providing the services, according to court documents.

For his part, Do pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. He is still awaiting his sentence.

Do continued to be reimbursed by the state until the spring of 2022, according to court documents.

At the time, Claustro was an Orange County prosecutor and was campaigning to become a State Supreme Court judge. Claustro achieved the feat in June 2022, defeating rival Kevin Brian Jones, 72% to 28%.

His message throughout his campaign focused on his humble roots as the son of Mexican immigrants with a third-grade education.

“Claustro did not follow established OCDA office policy requiring approval of any outside work, a process intended to prevent potential conflicts,” Orange County Dist. He said. Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

He added that Claustro “treacherously betrayed his position of trust as a public servant by stealing public benefits from those who needed them most, and he did so while posing as a champion of truth and justice on behalf of the people of California.”